17/05 Nest Box Checking

Second Nest Box Check 2016

Checked 136 nest boxes over the last 6 days. More take up since the first check; mostly additional Blue Tit and a few Great Tit. The trees are well in leaf so it looks as if particularly Blue Tit may be out of sync with this years caterpillar hatch. Just a couple of Blue and Great Tits on today’s Mount Hill check were hatching.

To date 19 Nuthatch pulli from four nest have been ringed, three nests today. Two nest at Snelsmore and two at Mount Hill are not quite ready for ringing and two at Greenham Common have still to be checked (tomorrow subject to the weather)

Summary (nest boxes occupied)

Great Tit: Snelsmore Common 15, Greenham Common 5,   Mount Hill 10 Total 30

Blue Tit:   Snelsmore Common 29, Greenham Common 13, Mount Hill 20 Total 62
Nuthatch Snelsmore Common 6,    Greenham Common 2,   Mount Hill 2   Total 10
Nest Boxes not occupied 34 including some nest being built and species uncertain. 

Ringed

Great Tit  nil

Blue Tit    nil

Nuthatch 19

Depending on pulli survival not such a bad year as it looked after check 1.